Zayn Malik Reveals That One Direction Members "Got Sick of Each Other" Ahead of His Departure

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It’s been nearly nine years since One Direction (ahem, the group that sent Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson into superstardom) broke up. But the past few years have proved to be quite tumultuous for the former boy band. In May 2022, Liam gave an explosive interview on Logan Paul’s podcast — you know, the one where he shaded Zayn, claimed that One Direction was formed around him as the star, and that he and Louis “hated” each other. Since then, other members — such as Louis — have spilled the tea about the band’s time together in the early 2010s, and honestly, it’s a lot to keep up with.

But we’re here to shed some light on all the shade. Below, a complete guide to everything you need (yes, need!) to know about the recent One Direction drama.

July 12, 2023: Zayn reveals that One Direction members "got sick of each other" ahead of his departure

As he gears up for the release of his new single, "Love Like This," Zayn Malik is opening up about his past. The singer got candid on the latest episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast — a.k.a his first formal interview in six years (!!) — and talked about his 1D days. While One Direction was formed in 2010 on the U.K. singing competition The X Factor, Zayn exited the band on March 15, 2015, and recently shared that he knew when it was time to leave.

"I think I've known for a minute," he told host Alex Cooper. "Look, I don't want to go into too much detail, but there was a lot of politics going on, certain people were doing certain things, certain people didn't want to sign contracts, so I knew something was happening."

He added, "There was obviously underlying issues, like within our friendships, too. We've been together every day for five years, and we got sick of each other, if I'm being completely honest. So we were close." There's still love for his former bandmates, though. Zayn also admitted that he looks back on their experiences together in a "much fonder light" than he previously did.

The "Pillowtalk" hitmaker also revealed the reason why he's avoided doing interviews since his departure from the award-winning boy band. "I feel like we were so overexposed in the band that that's why I took the time that I have to not even necessarily do interviews," he said before explaining how music execs labeled each member of the band to fit certain archetypes. "They just said, 'Oh yeah, you can be the mysterious one.' That wasn’t necessarily my personality, I'm just chill. I know that a lot of people have high-energy personalities, and it's just not the way I am."

In case you missed it, listen to Zayn's full interview on Call Her Daddy below.

July 10, 2023: Liam says his "cringe" comments on Logan Paul's podcast were "a scramble to stay relevant"

Liam is back and better. The former One Direction star posted a YouTube video where he discussed a number of things, including his controversial comments about his former bandmates, his sobriety, and what fans can expect from him in the future. "One of the biggest remarks I made was about the One Direction thing… and a lot of self-protection, I suppose, in that moment, more than anything," he said. "The rest of the boys really stuck by me when I needed them most. They kinda came to the rescue. Even Zayn, as well, which is why I did send him a little thank you online. It came across really big-headed didn’t it?"

Liam said that his comments were "a little bit cringe" and revealed that the backlash was hard to watch. "A lot of what I said came from the wrong place. I was so angry at what was going on around me, and instead of taking a look inwards, I decided to look outwards at everybody else, and I just think, yeah I took it out on everybody else, which is just wrong, really," he added.

The singer also opened up about his decision to enter a sobriety treatment facility in Louisiana. “I have had a lot of time to recollect over those moments. I kinda had to go away to kinda get better. The whole thing up to that point was just a scramble to stay relevant," he revealed. According to Liam, the situation was a "life-changing [moment] that saved my life in a way." He also said that he has "more of a grip on life and everything that was getting away from me, I just feel like I’ve got more of a handle on it."

As for his future, Liam announced that he'd be embarking on a South and Latin American tour this September.

November 9, 2022: Louis admits he was jealous of Harry’s success

Although Louis has gone on to form an impressive solo career after One Direction, he admitted in a recent interview with The Telegraph that he was jealous of Harry’s initial success in comparison to his own.

“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me at first,” the artist shared. “Only ‘cos I didn’t know where to place myself, and really my only point of reference was other members of the band. But it’s not surprising to me that Harry’s the most commercially successful because he really fits the mold of a modern star.”

“He’s not just doing music, he’s got film as well, and the tour he’s done is unbelievable,” Louis added, commenting on Harry’s recent roles in Don’t Worry Darling and My Policeman. “It took me a while to work out where I stand.” But he clarified that there’s no animosity between them. “I look on Harry like a brother, man,” he said. “I have a lot of pride for what he’s doing.”

Louis then noted that despite recent comments, he and his former bandmates are all supportive of one another. His new album, “Faith in the Future,” drops on November 11, and he’s “sure” that “the lads” will text him when it’s released.

“We check in on each other, we’re good like that,” he said. Okay, aw. 🥺

August 2, 2022: Louis says the first One Direction album was “s**t”

Just when we thought the One Direction drama saga was over, another member conducts an interview and spills tea about the band's time together. Louis Tomlinson appeared on Smallzy's Surgery podcast on July 25 — a.k.a the 12-year anniversary since 1D was formed on The X Factor — and shared his thoughts on the band's earlier tracks.

Louis, who's released solo projects and even went on to become a judge on The X Factor after his time in 1D, said "Twelve years ago today the band got formed, but the first album was s–t anyway."

"There's still pressure obviously for me to deliver a good record... and me trying to find my feet coming out of a band as big as One Direction," Louis added. His first solo single, "Back to You (feat. Bebe Rexha and Digital Farm Animals)," was released in 2017 while his full-length solo album, Walls, was released in 2020.

One Direction's debut album, Up All Night, catapulted the boys into superstardom and a successful US crossover in 2011. During the era, 1D spawned hits like "Moments" and "What Makes You Beautiful" (which Harry still performs today), and the album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Each of the 1D boys also has writing credits on Up All Night tracks, "Taken," "Same Mistakes," and "Everything About You." Since then, they went on to write more songs and release four subsequent albums as a group: Take Me Home, Midnight Memories, Four, and Made in the AM.

Up All Night continues to be a nostalgic fan favorite, and we will be singing our hearts out to the bridge of "Taken" despite Louis' hot take on the album.

July 25, 2022: The X Factor enters the chat

The X Factor has officially entered the chat. A couple months after Liam Payne claimed that One Direction was created around him, the UK-based talent competition show — on which Liam, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, and Niall Horan were discovered — released never-before-seen footage of exactly how the boy band was formed.

In the clip from 2010, The X Factor judges at the time — Nicole Scherzinger, Simon Cowell, and Louis Walsh — stand around a table with photos of the show's male contestants in front of them. "Let's do an imaginary boy group," Nicole says, as she places a photo of Niall at the top of the table.

When the photo of Harry comes up, Louis says, "We liked him." Nicole and Simon agree, and Nicole directs Louis to place his photo under Niall's.

"They're the cutest boy band ever! I love it," Nicole exclaims, as Louis [Tomlinson]'s photo is added to the duo. "The little girls are going to love them."

"They're just too talented to get rid of," she says of the trio. "They got just the right look and the right charisma on stage. I think they'll be really great in a boy band together. They're like little stars and you can't get rid of little stars... so you put them all together."

Liam's photo is added next. "He was a standout audition," Simon says. The judge then requests that Liam be moved to another group, but Nicole disagrees and says that she thinks he would "definitely shine" with Niall, Harry, and Louis.

"He could actually maybe be the leader," she continues. Simon then points out that Liam "thinks he's better than anyone else on that list," to which Louis [Walsh] agrees. Finally, Zayn is added to the group, and the judges unanimously agree that the band is finalized.

So, it appears that while Simon certainly advocated for Liam and spoke highly of his talent, One Direction was not necessarily built around him. Nicole played a major part in putting the boy band together, and while all of the judges agreed that Liam "could actually maybe be the leader," it was Niall's photo that Nicole reached for first.

Check out the full video, released on One Direction's 12-year anniversary, below.

July 22, 2022: And Louis Tomlinson enters the chat

Almost two months after One Direction member Liam Payne made some seriously controversial claims about his former bandmates on Logan Paul's podcast Impaulsive, Louis Tomlinson is addressing the suspected drama.

ICYMI, Louis was one of the members of the band that Liam commented on in his interview, saying that they "hated each other" while in the group together, but are "best mates now." He also went on to claim that Louis was "wild" and that during one particular argument, he "threw" Liam up against a wall.Louis never commented on the allegations, but after he was asked about the "bit of 1D beef" during an interview with Australian talk show The Project, he insisted that there is no drama between them.

"Oh, so the fishing's begun already. Yeah, I see what you're doing," Louis joked. "No listen, I'm immensely proud, as I know Liam is. I'm immensely proud of those days, obviously. I mean, you know, it was an incredible thing to do and especially at such a young age. Amazing memories, man. Amazing memories."

Well, there you have it. It seems like all is well and good in the One Direction universe — now how can we enroll in the Harry Styles course at Texas State University?

June 10, 2022: Zayn sings One Direction’s “You and I” on Instagram

While we are not too sure what Zayn's feelings are towards Liam or this v dramatic sitch after the podcast interview, he did post an eight-second clip onto his IG, of him hitting his iconic high note run in the One Direction song, "You & I."

To add more confusion, Louis 'liked' the video. Does this mean Louis is Team Zayn?! Only time will tell...

June 2, 2022: Liam addresses his comments on Zayn

Following his appearance on Impaulsive, it seems Liam was unhappy with the way he shared his thoughts on Zayn. After getting dragged on the internet by angry fans, the "Strip That Down" singer took to Twitter to clarify what he meant.

"Guys – I wouldn’t normally comment on this stuff but when its your family it’s hard to let it slide," he said. "They mentioned a specific incident involving Zayn which I responded to – but listening back maybe I didn’t articulate myself as well as I could have."

"I was saying that there will always be things we disagree on but that I will always, always be on his side,” Payne added. “That’s family. Zayn is my brother and I will stand by him forever."

you need (yes, need!) to know about the recent One Direction drama.

May 31, 2022: Liam shades his former One Direction bandmates on Logan Paul’s podcast

Evidently, Liam Payne woke up and chose violence on May 31 when he aired out all of his feelings on former One Direction bandmates Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik. Since then Liam has walked back some of his comments, and Zayn has seemingly responded.

Here's the full picture, ICYMI:

Appearing on Logan Paul's podcast Impaulsive, the former popular boyband member shared exclusive details about numerous topics, such as why One Direction broke up, his opinions about his ex-partner Cheryl, and about fighting Justin Bieber. However, the most controversial topics by far were his feelings on Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, and why One Direction was formed.

Telling the story of how One Direction got its start on UK show The X Factor from his point of view, Payne says that "We got kicked off, all of us, and then me and Niall [Horan] were about to get the train in Houston and this woman came running behind us and was like, ‘Yo, please come back, the judges want to speak to you.”

“And they’d already done this to me once, so I was like, ‘What the… are you gonna mess with my emotions some more? I’m already crazy enough thank you very much,'" he says.

Liam continued, saying that the producers then picked out members of the band. "And from what I’ve heard is that part of the reason One Direction was made was because of Simon’s promise to me that in 2 years I’ll make this work for you,” he shared. “So he kind of started with my face and worked around the rest… I was the honorary member of One Direction and he told me that story himself at his house.”

But before fans even had time to react to this comment, more explosive claims were made, including that he and Louis "hated each other" while "in the band," but that they are "best mates now."

Uhh, pardon? 😶

He went on to explain that he wasn’t used to “rowdy guys” when he first joined the group, saying that “Louis was wild. He wanted to be wild. He’s got this spirit.”

Liam later revealed more about “coming to blows” with Louis and said, “We came very close at points. There was one moment where there was an argument backstage and one member, in particular, threw me up a wall. So I said to him, ‘If you don’t remove those hands, there’s a high likelihood you’ll never use them again.’”

But, wait, it gets even worse!

During the episode, Logan, brought Malik's name up when discussing the "Pillowtalk" performer's 2020 feud with his brother, Jake, after the siblings publicly claimed he was rude to them during a trip to Las Vegas, according to TMZ.

Zayn's then-girlfriend Gigi Hadid quickly came to the singer's defense, posting a tweet addressing the scenario at the time, which read, "Lol cause he doesn't care to hang w you and your embarrassing crew of YouTube groupies..? Home alone with his best friends like a respectful king cause he has me, sweetie. Unbothered by your irrelevant ugly ass. Go to bed …"

"[Gigi] tweeted something about get yourself a respectful man or something. That one didn't age very well," Liam said on the podcast, seemingly referencing Zayn's alleged September 2021 physical altercation with Gigi's mother Yolanda, where he pleaded no contest.

"There's many reasons why I dislike Zayn and there's many reasons why I'll always, always be on his side," Liam said. "If I had had to go through what he went through — with his growth and whatever else… My parents are overly supportive to the point where it's annoying at times. Zayn had a different upbringing in that sense."

Payne continued to air out Zayn's family laundry before saying, "You can always look at the man for where he is and say, 'Oh yeah, whatever, that guy's a d—.' But at the end of the day, once you're understanding what he's been through to get to that point — and also whether or not he wanted to be there."

He added, "I can't sit here and d— on him because of whatever. And listen, I don't agree with any of his actions. I can't commend some of the things that he's done. I can't be on his side for that."

"What I can say is I understand and your only hope is that at some point in their life, the person at the other end of the phone wants to receive the help that you're willing to give them," Liam said, concluding his thoughts on Zayn.

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